Monday, January 19, 2009

An Interview with Lynn Crain

Please welcome Lynn Crain to my blog today.

Alisha: Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood? Favorite memories?

Lynn: Well…I was born in Ohio…and we moved to Nevada when I was 11. There’s a lot of Ohio I love and one thing I hate – the humidity! LOL! MOF I still own a farm there as my mother left it to me. Mmmm – a favorite memory – one of them would have to be driving down the country road to my farm. It is really secluded and the place is beautiful.

Alisha: Tell us about the hero and heroine in your latest release.

Lynn: Lacey and Cuinn. Wow – there is so much. First, she’s a nurse and he’s an elf – does that work? LOL! This is the fourth book in my series called Santa’s Elves. They are all about a family of elves and how they cope with working for Santa and the real human world. In this edition, Cuinn has met Lacey at the end of book 3 when they dance together at his sister’s wedding. The only problem is, she isn’t supposed to be there at all. Cuinn has seen her at college since they both go in Boston where Lacey is a friend of his cousin, Giselle. At the end of this first encounter, he must make her forget they ever met. The story is all about what happens when they do get back together. Here’s an excerpt to show you what I mean!

“Dance with me,” a seductive voice said close to his ear. Tingles traipsed through his insides and his body tightened in response to the seductive nature of her voice. “What?” Instant attraction to the female caught him off guard. He turned his head and his mouth brushed against a pair of soft pink lips as an exotic scent wrapped itself around him.“I said, dance with me.” A pair of beautiful brown eyes stared up at him.“Do I know you?” The staccato beat of his heart tapped against his chest and he hoped she didn’t notice. She took a breath and the mere act turned him on even more.“We met in Boston. You’re Cuinn Locklin and I’m Lacey Sinclair. I’m a friend of your cousin’s. We met at a party, had a drink and even talked about going out sometime. Unfortunately that never happened.” She smiled and arched her eyebrow in what seemed to be an open invitation. “Yet.”His gaze widened. “I remember. How did you get here?”“The sleigh picked us up.”“What I meant to say is, what are you doing here? I don’t recall you knowing my sister, Aingeal.”She flipped her honey blonde hair off her face. “You mean what’s a human doing here, right?” She shrugged. “I told her she could practice her amnesia spell on me. You know the one where you make the person forget everything that’s happened at an event?”“I’m aware of it. But you shouldn’t know anything about it. And since Giselle’s human I know she doesn’t know how to do the spell no matter what she told you. She’s a lot of things but…” He tried hard not to stare at Lacey but couldn’t help it. She was beautiful. “Let’s just say, we only share genetics from one side of the family.”“I guess we’re busted.” She smiled at him again, her eyes lighting up with apparent amusement. “I guess you’ll have to practice it on me, ‘cause now I know a lot of things I’m not supposed to.”He smiled wryly. “I would say so.” He looked out at the dancers again, uncomfortable with the fact he didn’t excel in dancing at all. “But I’m not sure I’m someone you’d want to dance with.”“Why not?” she asked with a hint of a laugh, dazzling him with another smile and looked down at his feet. “Your feet may be large, but I can tell you don’t have two left ones.”He laughed. She was such a breath of fresh air. “Alright. But I’m not very good. ”“I don’t think you have to be good for this one. It’s a slow dance. All you have to do is put your arms around me and sway with the rhythm of the music.”He grabbed her offered hand, pulled her toward the dance floor and, doing as she had instructed, took her in his arms and swayed gently to the music. A head length taller, his shoulder was the ideal height for her to rest her head upon while they moved to the music. Her alluring scent, her utterly feminine, soft contours that fit like a perfect match in his, stirred his passion. He willed his body to stop reacting, afraid if he couldn’t control it, he would embarrass them both.“See, this isn’t so bad, is it?” She smiled up at him.“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, hoping not to melt into a pile of goo at her feet.“So, what are you studying in Boston? We never got that far before.” She gazed up at him as if intent on memorizing every line. “History and computers right now. I haven’t figured anything else out yet, although my oldest brother wants me to help him design toys. But I’d rather have my masters in something I like, not what the family likes.”She chuckled. “At least you understand that much. It takes some people years.”“And you?”“I’m in pre-med. I hope to be a pediatrician some day. First, I need to get out of school and earn money toward my goal. I’ll graduate with a nursing degree specializing in pediatrics within the next few months. ”“That’s a hard thing to do. My brother Ardan is a doctor and, while he loves it very much, I know it was really difficult. But you sound as if you have a definite plan in place.”“Anything worthwhile is always hard. Life wasn’t meant to be easy no matter who you are.”Puzzled, he nodded. She was right of course, but the only person he had ever heard say that had been his father. He looked down at her and smiled. Lacey was a stunning woman and she had sought him out. Maybe that was a good sign. But then again, there were elven matters she wasn’t supposed to know. Giselle was always doing something she shouldn’t. He would have to get back with his cousin on the issue later. “Coming through, coming through.” Eggther pushed his way through the dancing couples, stopping to stand next to him. “Eggther thinks you’ve found a very pretty woman.”

Alisha: If you were granted three wishes by a genie, what would they be?

Lynn: This is actually hard and I know my answer will sound hokey. Sigh. The first thing I would ask for is world peace and for everyone to get along. People are people no matter where you go but we’ve got to quit fighting amongst ourselves if we’re ever going to survive as a species or get off this rock. LOL! Weird, I know. Second, cures for every known disease and an end to world hunger. People will quit fighting when they aren’t ill or hungry. Enough money so I can do what I want and be a philanthropist. I’ve always wanted to help people and money solves a lot.

Alisha: Fantastic answer! If you could go anywhere to tomorrow, where would you go?

Lynn: This one is easy. Scotland. There’s a little farm outside of Stirling that has self-catering cottages. We try to go as often as we can and we’re planning on it this summer.

Alisha: If you could see anyone tomorrow (dead or alive), who would it be?

Lynn: Again, another hard one. Today it would have to be Gandhi. I wish I could have his patience and see the world the way he did.

Alisha: If you could choose six people to spend one week on a desert island, who would it be and why?

Lynn: Again, it depends upon the day of the week. LOL! Some days it would be my family, others my girlfriends, still another might be that sexy harem of men I’ve been looking at…LOL!. Today I would choose – all things writing – yeah! Basically, it would be two of my writer friends, Brenda and Chris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Michael Crichton, Nora Ephron and Joss Whedon. I know, a really weird mix, but I know that each of them could teach me something about the ins and outs of writing and how to get some of my more visual stories to the right people.

Alisha: What word or phrase tingles in all the right places for you?

Lynn: Sizzle. I just love the word, sizzle. It can mean so many things. A touch exchanged between your hero and heroine. The look across the room. Or more mundane things like the sound of meat on a grill. You can sizzle on a summer’s day or send your lover a sizzling look. It’s just a great word!

Alisha: Wow! It IS a great word! If you had one day to spoil yourself, what would you do?

Lynn: Have a spa day. I’ve done this a couple of times before and I just love it. MOF, when I do the EPICon this year, I’ll be having another one! LOL!

Alisha: If you could change one incident in your life, what would it be and how would you change it?

Lynn: I really wouldn’t change anything but if I did it would probably be to have more focus on my writing at a younger age. I turned the big 5-0 last year and wasn’t published until I was almost 46. If I could turn that clock back 5-10 years, just think where I’d be now. LOL!

Alisha: What’s the sexiest thing a man has ever done for you or said to you or both?

Lynn: When my husband and I got married, he traveled a lot to Europe and the Soviet Union. But in all the years he had never missed a birthday or an anniversary of myself or our oldest. One year he had to miss mine and I took it really hard. I cried before he left, something I usually didn’t do and was just generally down in the dumps. Still, I had to get our son off to school and myself to work. When I go there, I opened the door to my office and it was filled with roses, presents and a cake. He had gotten everyone in on the fact that he was gone and basically threw me an office party. It was really cool and made up for the fact that he was gone. Even our son had gotten in on the act. It was beautiful!

Don't forget to check out my charity book for children, Tennessee. 100% of proceeds go to gifting books to the Children of our Fallen Warriors at Snowball Express in December. Visit Tennessee's website at http://tennesseethetherapycat.weebly.com!